Ohio State Reflective Practice Spring Anotated Bibliography

Class Reflections:

  During the spring semester I took two courses including Reflective Practice and Curriculum Development Assessment. Both of these classes offered me the opportunity to expand my knowledge in the art education and museum education field. In the curriculum development class, we were asked to read various materials concerning specific aspects within the classroom, such as creating rubrics, portfolios, types of assessments, understanding the visual arts as a collection of sensory experiences, etc. We also were required to create a rubric, as well as a unit proposal and lesson plan that included three distinct lessons. For this plan, I decided to focus on disability justice, disability studies, ableism, power dynamics, and how the disability community is perceived through the visual arts. I spent time reading, researching, and determining how I would implement this plan. Prior to this class, I hadn’t created any type of lesson plan, so this was a new experience and challenge for me. However, I gained new knowledge in this area and grew as an academic researcher and was able to construct activities and ideas from the sources I read, as well as other sample lesson plans. Also, I enjoy having the capacity to understand and develop a practice that is similar to the classroom experience, but it doesn’t entirely fit this framework. This lesson plan assignment, as well as other assignments, assisted me with various activities within my role at the Butler. In other words, I understood how to research and implement various resources and activities into a lesson plan which could be beneficial to possibly creating a new program or art making activity. Most significantly, I also learned about creating a rubric and what is involved in this process. As I continue working to complete my second to last semester in the program, I’m engaged, present equitable and diverse experiences, and accessible experiences for all museum visitors and staff. I have come to realize that changing the status quo maybe challenging but through integration of the visual arts, advocacy, and empathy for others, it is possible to showcase various frameworks into the museum field for a wide range of audiences.

In the spring reflective practice course, we completed check in quizzes as well as blog posts and reflections to enhance our teaching research, art making, and interactions with others. The most challenging portion of this class involved writing a blog relating to teaching a lesson plan. I was slightly apprehensive about this since I had never taught a specific lesson to a group previously. However, I was familiar with teaching others. I decided that prior to teaching my lesson plan, I would first complete a few artworks that correlated with the project, so the individuals would be familiar with what to expect for the art making portion of the assignment as well as the explanation. Once I had completed with project, I was extremely pleased with the end result. This truly boosted my confidence as a museum educator. I learned that in order for individuals to clearly understand a topic, I had to teach the lesson with unique examples as well as a brief background. Also, sharing my previous artwork I had created allowed them to understand what was most challenging. I believe that the most challenging portion of the class is to have someone observe me teaching a lesson and providing feedback. Since I do not specifically teach in a classroom setting, and the form related heavily to classroom teaching practices I was slightly apprehensive about this. Over the course of this semester, I have continued to grow as a writer, researcher, museum educator, and artist, through interactions with my fellow museum colleagues, Ohio State cohorts as well as my professors. 

Annotated Bibliography

Introduction: The following resources connect the themes of living with a disability, whether or not to ask for specific accommodations, and overcoming challenges from surrounding disability. In the majority of these works, disability is placed at the forefront of the conversation, and it is typically determined by either the medical or social model of disability studies. The medical model suggest that members of the disability community are broken in some way and need to be fixed. The environment isn’t adaptable for disabled individuals, so they can’t reach their full potential. The social model disability studies suggest the positive philosophy of disability and providing unique technology and adaptability to succeed within our society. Numerous tools exist, such as guide dogs, white canes, and assisted technology. The most common place aspect within each of these sources is understanding how disability can be challenged and received. Two of the most impactful reading throughout the curriculum development assessment course included: The Country of the Blind, as well as “Thanks, But No Thanks.” Both of these works detailed the ideas concerning disability, stereotypes and overcoming challenges, and also when to ask for assistance. This literature provided a springboard for one of my lesson plan themes combining disability studies and art education, since they provide a wide array of examples and details about the disability experience.

‌Leland, A. (2023). The Country of the Blind. Penguin.

The Country of the Blind is a compilation of stories and experiences relating to blind individuals from the National Federation of the Blind as well as, Andrew Leland. He expresses numerous emotions as he details his connection with blindness from his earliest blindness experience as a younger adult, to his current situation where he has lost a large portion of his central vision. Also, this work discusses the binary of blindness perspectives. In other words, he states that there is a great divide between the National Federation of the Blind and the American Council of the Blind. For instance, the NFB initially was opposed to passing the ADA, since they believed that accommodations could be optional and not required.  After reading this book, these ideas got me thinking of the unique challenges and perspectives of the blind community as a whole, since blindness can also be considered as a cultural phenomenon.  

Blind Eye Artist (2023). (n.d.). Tubitv.com. Retrieved April 7, 2024, from https://tubitv.com/movies/100012670/blind-eye-artist?start=true&tracking=google-feed&utm_source=google-feed

This film discusses Justin Wadlington: his artwork, as well as his experiences as a blind individual. It begins when he was four years old and was blinded accidentally in one eye. However, this dramatic change didn’t stop him from gaining the confidence to create complex pieces using mythology and other elements. Most significantly, the documentary was during Covid, and he learned about selling his artwork to art galleries and other famous individuals. This documentary combines the challenges and explores the theme of connecting persons from various backgrounds to the visual arts. It also discusses how blindness can be altered from a negative perspective to a positive one.  

Marks, J. (n.d.). Thanks, But No Thanks [Review of Thanks, But No Thanks]. Nfb.org. Retrieved April 7, 2024, from https://nfb.org/sites/default/files/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm00/bm0007/bm000703.htm

The article “Thanks, But No Thanks” discusses how there is a split between the blind community needing more accommodations than others. In other words, this is more specifically related to a college campus and the disability services office. The authors state that in a majority of situations, the disability services director or another employee usually begins the process after a disabled individual has signed up for services. They claim that these employees working at disability services provide too many accommodations. For example, this includes note takers and escort service from class to class. I can definitely relate to these experiences, since I learned ways to do note taking, because I sat too far from the projector or the chalk board, I was unable to see what was written. They go on to state further that instead of having a note taker, the blind individual should be able to take their own notes and synthesize what the professor is saying. This is definitely possible, but when it comes to being able to truly concentrate and keep up with note taking, this isn’t always reliable. A general theme for this article describes the need for disabled individuals being able to either accept or deny specific accommodations. Prior to the 1990 ADA law, the National Federation of the Blind was opposed to it being passed for the same reason. 

Navigating a New World: The Experiences of Persons who are Blind or Partially Sighted During COVID-19. (n.d.). Crhesi.uwo.ca. https://crhesi.uwo.ca/margins/navigating-a-new-world-the-experiences-of-persons-who-are-blind-or-partially-sighted-during-covid-19/

This article discusses various experiences of blind individuals trying to cope during the pandemic, which proved extremely challenging for the disability and non-disability community. This was much more difficult for blind people since they were advised not to touch that many items or were advised not to ask for a sighted guide within a store or elsewhere. However, there were also numerous online barriers involving education, shopping, and more. For example, there are numerous online platforms that aren’t fully accessible for blind individuals using a screen reader. They don’t have the opportunity to understand visually rich images, since they don’t contain text descriptions. Also, the websites are cumbersome to navigate, and it takes time to fully understand the sites layout. This is when the concept of visual interpreting truly took off. Aira is specifically mentioned. It discusses how technology such as Aira can bridge the gap to provide independence and efficiency remotely from hundreds or thousands of miles away and not having to rely on a nearby sighted person for assistance. This article was extremely well written and details various experiences from blind individuals. It also illuminates how the pandemic impacted everyone regardless of ability. 

Pick of the Litter (2018). (n.d.). Tubitv.com. Retrieved April 7, 2024, from https://tubitv.com/movies/100001340/pick-of-the-litter

Pick of the Litter details the story of several guide dogs and their blind guide dog handlers. They come from unique backgrounds and career paths, and the guide dogs are extremely unique as well. For example, not all dogs raised as guide dogs for the blind can become a guide dog. This is because they might bark too much or be too preoccupied with items in nature or people, as well as not being able to guide their handlers as efficiently. The same holds true for blind guide dog handlers, since all blind persons don’t have a guide dog. It’s all about choice. Guide dog handlers are matched with a guide dog that possesses specific traits and characteristics, walking speed and temperament. The theme of collaboration and a positive understanding of guide dog experience is extremely important within this film. 

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